James B. Golden

James B. Golden is the inaugural Poet Laureate for the city of Salinas. He is the author of four books: Sweet Potato Pie Underneath The Sun’s Broiler (2009), Afro Clouds & Nappy Rain (2011), The Inside Of An Orange (2012), and BULL: The Journey of a Freedom Icon (April 2014). The latter, his most recent, tells the story of his father's migration from South Carolina to California during the Civil Rights Movement. BULL weighs in on topics including lynching, poverty, abandonment, rape, class, alcoholism, and redemption.

Golden won the 2012 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry, for Afro Clouds & Nappy Rain. His writing has been recognized by the National Steinbeck Center as a “phenomenal work of art”. Critic Robert Walch declared his poems are “frank, explicit, and poignant”. Golden was invited to serve as the artist in residence at the National Steinbeck Center in 2011. He has appeared on radio and television shows including, The Young Turks.

Golden earned an M.P.A. and a B.A. in English-Creative Writing, and Pan African Studies Arts & Literature from California State University, Northridge. He has worked within the music community as a journalist for the past 10 years, writing articles for many publications including VIBE, Los Angeles Our Weekly, Clutch Magazine, and Jazz Times Magazine. He has also been active in the academy, editing several academic journals including Kapu-Sens Literary Journal and the National Hip Hop Think Tank. Golden has been invited around the nation to speak at various conferences on Hip Hop, Gender Relations, Black-Male-Feminism, and Cultural Medias.

He’s been an active participant and speaker at the National Hip Hop Political Convention, Hip Hop Think Tank Academic Conference, and The National Council for Black Studies Conference.

Golden’s books are being used on high school and college campuses around the country as hard-hitting, provocative literature. Johnie Scott, co-founder of the historic Watts Writers Workshop declared, “his is an exciting voice, filled with creativity but seasoned, as well, with a potpourri of experiences adding flavor to the richness of the work he is bringing to the table.”

Golden is completing his next book, an academic text on the legendary Hip Hop Soul Era. He is currently on The BULL Tour, which includes performances at colleges, grade schools, bookstores, and major historical venues.